A Heart for Home

by Lauraine Snelling

  Back out on the porch, Astrid picked up a brush and joined her mother in scrubbing the spines off the cucumbers.

  “What else is on your mind?”

  “I’m not sure.” She sucked in a breath of courage. “I am finding myself attracted to Daniel Jeffers.”

  “And what is wrong with that?”

  “I thought I was to remain single to be a better doctor.”

  “What made you think that?”

  “That last discussion with Mr. Landsverk.” Astrid sighed. “If I were to get married, I would need a man like Far or Thorliff, who are happy their wives are doctors or midwives or – ”

  “There are not a lot of men like your far. Or Thorliff either. But being married to a person who always puts patients first is not easy on either a man or a woman.”

  “But men put their jobs before their wives and families.”

  “That is true. But things are different for a woman. God has called you to be a doctor, and you are a good one who will only get better. So whomever you marry has to deal with that. The real question is this: Is Mr. Jeffers that kind of man?”

  “So what am I supposed to do? Ask him that right out front and make an absolute fool of myself?” Astrid threw a cucumber into the clean water with enough force to make it splash on both of them. “Sorry.”

  “Is he showing interest in you?”

  “He asked Thorliff if I would mind if he wrote to me, and he did write.”

  “And did you mind?”

  “Not at all. I enjoyed it. I had supper with him and his mother at the boardinghouse and he walked me home afterward. I really enjoy talking with him. He has a good mind and plenty of dreams. He loves it here in Blessing, and he is so very good to his mother.”

  “Is he a man of faith? That is supremely important.”

  “He attends church. He believes in God. He was raised like we were, only in town, in Iowa or Ohio, I forget which. His family cares about one another.”

  “Sounds to me like you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

  Astrid stared at her mother. “I guess I have, haven’t I?”

  The three women were just sitting down to supper when a voice came from some distance. “Grandma, I’m coming.”

  Astrid looked at her mother. “Did you just hear someone call your name?”

  “I did.” Ingeborg rose and hurried to the door. With a cry she pushed it open and flew down the stairs.

  Astrid and Freda jumped up and followed her.

  Emmy burst through the gate and threw herself into Ingeborg’s waiting arms. “I came back, Grandma. Uncle said I could. See? He brought me.”

  Astrid looked up to see an Indian man, his graying hair pulled back in a club. The wrinkles on his face spoke of many years in the weather. “Will you join us for supper, sir?”

  He nodded. Another Indian girl stood beside him. “This Two Shells.”

  “Can my cousin come too, Grandma?” asked Emmy. “She needs to go to school too.”

  Ingeborg stood and nodded to both the girl and the old man. “Thank you for bringing her back to me.”

  “It is good,” he said.

  “Would you like to spend the night?”

  “Go back.”

  “But you will eat with us?”

  He nodded.

  “Come in, then. We were just sitting down to supper.” Emmy took Ingeborg’s hand. “Uncle eats on the porch.”

  “I see.” Ingeborg turned to the other girl. “Welcome to my home, to Emmy’s other home, Two Shells. Come in, all of you.”

  Astrid fixed a plate and took it out to the uncle. “May I ask your name?”

  He took the plate. “Wolf Runs. Uncle to Little Sky and Two Shells.”

  “Thank you for bringing her back. My mother loves her dearly.”

  “True.” He sat down on the step and began to eat.

  When Ingeborg came out a few minutes later, he was gone, the empty plate sitting on the porch railing. She shaded her eyes with her hand to peer out across the fields. He was heading north. “Go with God,” she whispered. “And thank you.”

  Astrid stood at the door and watched her mother. When Far came home, her world would again be complete. Another reason to praise, which she sang on the way back to town. The buttered beets had indeed been delicious. Somehow, she also knew she had her mother’s blessing, no matter what she decided.

  30

  “Welcome, Dr. Bjorklund. I was afraid I’d have to send a scout out to find you.” Sophie held the door wide and invited Astrid and Ingeborg to come in. “And you too, Tante Ingeborg. I’m glad you could come.”

  Astrid paused as she heard laughter from the parlor – male laughter. “Are we not the only ones here?”

  “No, we are having a dinner party. I told you that.”

  “No, Sophie, you didn’t.” The laughter sounded a lot like Daniel Jeffers. She’d been set up. Did he know of the situation? Astrid glared at her cousin, who shrugged with a grin. “I told you not to meddle.”

  “I’m not. I just invited a few friends over for supper. I thought Mrs. Jeffers and Tante Ingeborg would enjoy each other’s company, and Garth said he wanted to get to know Mr. Jeffers better. So I thought of you to fill out our party.”

  How Sophie could look so innocent and be such a conniver never ceased to amaze Astrid. At least she had dressed up a bit for the occasion. Sophie slipped her arms around her relatives and guided them into the parlor, where the others were sipping from chilled glasses and laughing at a funny story Mr. Wiste, Garth, was telling.

  Sophie waited for the laughter to die down, then announced, “Now that we are all here, Anna has supper ready. Let’s adjourn to the dining room.”

  Before Astrid could do more than smile and nod to Mr. Jeffers, she was herded to a place right next to him, which was not a surprise at all. He held her chair and whispered in her ear, “I did not know of this either.”

  Somehow that made her feel better. One of these days she would figure out a way to get even with Sophie. Mrs. Jeffers and Ingeborg were seated across the table from them and the Wistes at either end.

  As soon as they were all seated, Sophie said sweetly, “Garth, would you please say the grace?” They all bowed their heads as Garth took in a deep breath and spoke softly.

  “Heavenly Father, we thank you for our friends and families who make our lives so much richer. We thank you for the food prepared for our supper and for the time we can be together. Amen.”

  “Thank you, Garth, that was lovely,” Ingeborg said. “Where have you sent all the children?”

  “My sister Helga has them next door. It isn’t often we do something like this, so we enjoy the special time too.” He turned to Mrs. Jeffers. “I hear you are doing a marvelous job teaching English to the immigrant workers. Toby said he can now give simple instructions in English, and they understand.”

  “Thank you. I’m doing something different than I did in the past. This time I am teaching construction and building terms first.

  They can learn daily life things like fork and hot and no and thank you later.”

  Astrid spoke up. “She has done the same thing with our Indian women in the nursing program. They are learning quickly, and then Deborah reinforces what they learned throughout the day.”

  Anna entered the room with a serving tray and began setting small plates of pickled beets and cheese and tiny cuts of bread at each place.

  “Cousin Anna, you help out wherever, don’t you?”

  “Ja, Sophie is teaching me the proper way to serve.” She glanced at Ingeborg and rolled her eyes, which made Astrid hide a grin.

  “And Helga is teaching her some of the fancier cooking. We all know what a marvelous cook she is already.”

  Anna blushed and shook her head as she left the room.

  As Astrid set aside her disgust with Sophie and joined in the conversation, she realized how delightful an elegant supper could be. She and Mr. Jeffers could talk as easily as they had that evening before with his m
other, and tonight Ingeborg added comments and questions as if they had all been meeting like this for ages. Sophie and Garth teased each other and the guests, and when they moved back into the parlor, the conversations continued.

  Mr. Jeffers had them laughing at his tales of growing up with a father who was an inventor. Many of his inventions didn’t amount to anything, but others did, like the adaptation to seeders that he was selling now.

  As the hour grew late, Garth took Ingeborg home in the buggy, and Mr. Jeffers walked Astrid and his mother home. They dropped Mrs. Jeffers off at the boardinghouse and continued walking toward the surgery. “I brought you something,” he said, removing a paper from the pocket inside his suit jacket. He handed it to her with a shrug. “I don’t know if you want this or not, but I kept a journal of this journey, and I thought you might like to read it.”

  “Why, thank you.” Astrid fingered the envelope that must have held several sheets of paper, thick as it was.

  “I can’t always say what I am thinking. I do better on paper.”

  “I am the same way. Sometimes I keep a journal. I did when I was in Georgia, but lately I’ve let that slide. Which is a shame, because it helps sometimes to be able to go back and read about an earlier event in case you begin to forget it.”

  “I agree. My mother has always kept what she called her prayer book, writing down what she prays for and then going back and dating when and how God answered. I used to love to read that, I guess because so many of the prayers were for me.”

  “My mor has done the same. I haven’t looked at it for a long while, mostly because I no longer live at home. But I know how faithful she is about it. That’s something I want – to be faithful in prayer and Bible reading. I get busy and let it slide, and then I feel guilty. It’s a vicious circle.”

  “Coming to Blessing and listening to Pastor Solberg has brought me back to thinking about God’s things more. He is such a good teacher.”

  They’d reached the gate in the picket fence to the surgery when they heard a low chuckle. There sat Thorliff and Elizabeth on the porch swing, enjoying the evening breeze.

  “Welcome home.” Elizabeth covered her mouth in a yawn. “Pardon me. I hope you had a good time.”

  “We really did.” Astrid looked to Mr. Jeffers, who nodded. “Even though I got tricked into going.”

  “No, Sophie wouldn’t do such a thing.” Elizabeth’s laugh made Astrid smile.

  “Welcome to the machinations of my cousin Sophie. We never knew what she would do next, and I guess that hasn’t changed,” Astrid added with a chuckle.

  “You have to admit, she has a good heart,” Thorliff reminded her.

  “Here, Astrid, you sit on the swing, and Daniel and I can use the porch railing.” The four of them talked about the news of Blessing, Teddy Roosevelt’s running for president, and the outcome of Daniel’s trip.

  “I think my mother feels the greater sense of relief for finally knowing this much. I’ll tell you, when that man made a remark about my father’s body, I wanted to go through those bars and choke the life out of him. He cares for nothing but himself and acts as if everyone is out to get him.”

  “Mostly they are, because he infuriates people wherever he goes.” Thorliff shook his head. “That last meeting Mr. Valders and I had with him . . . Huh. We should have let the townspeople tar and feather him as they threatened.”

  “You know the most interesting thing,” Astrid said softly. “Rebecca and I talked about his attack on her, and she told me that she forgave him before he left. She is far more gracious than I.”

  “She is wise beyond her years.” Thorliff swatted a mosquito. “The breeze is dying, so here come the bloodsuckers.” He stood and reached for Elizabeth’s hand. “We are saying good-night, but let’s do this again sometime.”

  “I agree.” Astrid stood as well. “Thank you, Mr. Jeffers, for walking me home again. I’ll see you soon, I trust.”

  “Yes, you will.” He turned to leave. “Good night, all.” And, like before, he strolled whistling down the walk.

  “That is one very nice gentleman,” Elizabeth said.

  “I agree.” Astrid felt the crinkle of paper in her pocket. An interesting man too. Thank you, Lord, for an exceptional evening. As she climbed the stairs to her room, she reminded herself to write Sophie a thank-you note – with perhaps a hint of accusation in it. It was a shame she hadn’t invited Grace and Jonathan.

  The telephone rang in the middle of the night. Astrid thought she heard something, and when Thelma appeared at her door, she knew there was an emergency. She was out of bed before Thelma said, “Sophie is having her baby.”

  “Oh good. It’s about time.” Astrid threw on her clothes and then bundled her hair into a snood as she made her way down the stairs.

  “I told Mr. Wiste what he needed to do, but he said they were all ready. They’ve done this enough to know.”

  Astrid tried to stifle a yawn but failed. “At least it won’t be twins this time.” She checked her bag and let herself out of the house. Stars patterned the indigo sky like holes letting the light of heaven shine through. Lord, I thank you for a night such as this. I know any time is a good time for a baby to enter this world, but surely it is your spirit sending the breeze that will make Sophie more comfortable. Thank you for a healthy baby and for allowing me to help with the miracle of birth. Oh, Lord, I rejoice. And again I say rejoice.

  Garth met her at the door.

  “We’ve been walking and walking.”

  “Good. How is she doing?”

  “She says it is going to be soon.”

  “Some different than last time, eh?”

  “Oh yes. We moved a bed into the parlor so we didn’t have to contend with the stairs.”

  Just then an extended groan came from that direction.

  Astrid stepped into the room and smiled at Sophie, who glared back at her.

  “You almost missed this.”

  “I think not. How far apart are the contractions?”

  “Two minutes or so?” Garth tucked his watch back into his vest pocket.

  “Good. Let’s have a look.”

  Garth sat beside Sophie so she could squeeze his hands.

  Astrid checked the progress. “Well, what do we have here?” She smiled at Sophie over the tented raised knees. “We have a bit of head showing. I think you can push any time you feel like it.”

  “You think – ” Sophie groaned again, the tone rising as she scrunched her face. When she relaxed, she was panting. “This is hard work, you know.”

  “I know, and you are doing wonderfully well. I’d say you were made for having babies.”

  “Aren’t all women?” She let Garth wipe the perspiration from her face and neck. “Thank you.”

  “No. I’m sad to say that not all women are made to give birth.” Astrid heaved a sigh, thinking of Mrs. Moore down on the Rosebud Reservation. Even if the woman returned to her mother’s, she was going to have a hard time.

  “Here . . .”

  “Garth, get behind her so she can push against you.”

  He scrambled to do so while Sophie’s groan turned to a wail.

  “All right, cousin mine, let’s get this over with. On this next contraction, give it all you’ve got. Right now, we have a dark-haired baby, more like his pa. Or her pa.”

  Sophie pushed so hard she nearly squished her husband against the headboard.

  “We have a whole head now. Good work, Sophie. Easy . . . let me turn these shoulders. Okay now, push.”

  Sophie bit off the scream and collapsed back against Garth as the baby girl slid into Astrid’s waiting hands.

  “Oh, Sophie, she is beautiful.” Astrid wiped the mucus from the baby’s face and laid her on her mother’s chest. Using the corner of her apron, Astrid wiped her eyes and sniffed again. “Thank you, heavenly Father, for this gift from heaven, for the easy birth and – ”

  The baby let out a yell that sounded more like an angry twomonth old than a ne
wborn.

  The three of them burst into laughter. Then Astrid saw the cord go slack and moved beside Sophie to begin kneading her lower abdomen.

  “Ow! What are you doing?”

  “Getting the uterus to contract and expel the afterbirth.”

  “I’m not bread dough, you know.” She ran a finger over her daughter’s head. “Aren’t you lovely, little one? Ow!”

  “That’s it.” Astrid folded the cloth over the afterbirth and, after tying off the cord, took the scissors from the disinfectant bath and cut the cord. “Here, let me have her for a few minutes.”

  Taking the baby, she cleaned her up, wound a bandage around her middle, diapered her, and wrapped her in a soft flannel baby blanket. Handing the baby to Garth, she smiled. “You get to know her while I get Sophie cleaned up. Then, if you’ll make us some tea, I’ll leave the three of you to get some rest.”

  A few minutes later with the bed changed, Sophie washed and in a clean nightdress, Astrid laid the baby against her mother’s breast and watched as she began rooting around for the nipple.

  “She’s awfully strong, isn’t she?”

  “She didn’t spend a whole lot of time being born – that’s why.

  Good for baby and good for mother.”

  Garth entered the room with the tea tray. “Here you go.” He set the tray down and packed some pillows behind his wife before handing her a cup of tea.

  “Ow, you little piglet, you.” Sophie grimaced as the baby sucked.

  “What are you going to call her?”

  “I think Marie, after Garth’s favorite aunt. We’re not sure of a middle name yet.”

  “That is a beautiful name. Marie Wiste.” Astrid watched as the baby nursed. “You’d think she was much older.”

  “Well, she should have been born a week or two ago. Maybe that’s the difference. The twins were born early and so much smaller.” Sophie stroked her baby’s cheek and forehead with feather love touches.

  “Should I telephone your mother?” Garth asked.

  “No. Let her sleep. We can do that in the morning.” Sophie sipped from her tea. “I think I am ready to call it a night. With your approval, Dr. Bjorklund?”